This invention relates to an autoclavable air polisher handpiece, and, in particular, to a handpiece which is autoclavable without the need for disconnecting water and air/abrasive supply tubes.
An air polisher handpiece cleans by abrading teeth with soluble abrasive in the presence of a liquid. The handpiece is commonly connected to a source of liquid and abrasive by flexible tubing.
A preferred method of cleaning air polisher handpieces is to autoclave the handpiece after teeth cleaning operations. In my co-pending application Ser. No. 477,748, filed Feb. 9, 1990, which is incorporated herein by reference, I disclosed a new air polisher head To autoclave that head, the air and liquid tubing had to be disconnected from the handpiece to clean the handpiece. The constant separation of the tubing from this type of handpiece will lead to a poor joining of the tubing to the handpiece. Further, the need to disconnect the tubing makes the cleaning process more difficult and time consuming.